Vancouver recommendations

[eldan]

We're going back to Vancouver later this week. I'm looking forward to it, but also mindful of the things I didn't like last time. I know that a few of my readers know the place a lot better than I do, so while I'm thinking about this do any of you have recommendations for the following?

• Nice coffee shops or tea houses in which to spend several

Comments

[eldan]

Ooh, thank you. You'd mentioned those links before, but I forgot about them today. I would definitely go out of my way for good dim sum, especially because it looks like I'll have plenty of time on my hands.

I don't think we really got into Kitsilano proper last time, so I do need to explore there. We were walking west from Granville Island, but we eventually took a bus on to UBC. I got the impression that Kitsilano wasn't all that exciting, but later on I started to wonder if we just hadn't walked far enough, and then hearing your impressions of the area made me think we can't have quite been in the right place.

[e_notimpl]

I like the local (to Canada) coffee chain Blenz. Not as good as some of the non-chain places around here, but I'd put them above Tully's and well above Starbucks.

Not as rustic or homey inside as Starbucks or Tully's, they're more modern and well lit while remaining friendly. The ones I've been to had free wifi. I got a matcha latte, which was interesting, but good. Laura highly recommends a strawberry tea latte.

[e_notimpl]

Matcha latte:

[eldan]

That's very pretty, and looks like ice cream!

I'll bear Blenz in mind. I generally prefer places that aren't part of a chain at all, but the only thing I actually go out of my way to avoid are chains that we also have round here - it's so boring going to a Starbucks in Vancouver and having essentially the same experience as I would 4 blocks from home, or across the street from my old place.

[e_notimpl]

By all means, frequent the local places...Blenz is nice because it's better than your average chain, has free wifi, and it's easy to find one.

You can't beat a cozy little shop where the owner is roasting beans in the back. You have to know where to look, though :)

[harleybitch]

I HIGHLY recommend the capilano suspension bridge. Also the museum of anthropology is pretty neat and you can rifle through stuff for hours (but again it is a museum). I thought Grouss mountain was really overrated, but it had some gorgeous hiking trails that we didnt find until we were leaving-- then again you had to pay something like $40 for access to those trails which is just not cool.

[eldan]

We spent several hours at the museum of anthropology last time we were there, and it is pretty fantastic. Interesting building too, and they had a modern art exhibition in which made it a bit more alive than museums usually are.

I'm very curious about the suspension bridge, and I did want to go to Grouse Mountain, but if it's that expensive I'm not so sure. I think it's also a summer-only thing, but that's no problem - we're likely to be visiting Vancouver a few times through the year.